Ask the nearest teenager what Snapchat is and the answer you get might not persuade you to consider incorporating it into your business’s marketing plan. However, Snapchat is on the rise and with millions of “snaps” being sent every day, it’s time to start watching carefully to see how to be on the forefront of this mobile revolution.

What makes Snapchat different is the time-sensitive nature of the media sent. You can send pictures or videos lasting up to ten seconds, and after the time is up, they’re gone unless the user takes a screenshot. Businesses already on Snapchat (such as Taco Bell, the LPGA and Audi) have used this self-destructive mobile app to promote their business and encourage customers to participate in their brand.

One way to get customers engaged is to set up coupons or discounts only available through Snapchat. Send a picture of a product or of the business along with a caption (Snapchat lets you type a short caption or draw one) describing a promo code or coupon that Snapchat users can receive. Since the main appeal of Snapchat is that the pictures disappear, businesses can make the deal a one-day offer, to add to the feeling of fleetingness.

Snapchat is also extremely popular with the 18-30 year old demographic, and businesses like Taco Bell have used this to their advantage. Taco Bell used the app to send daily teasers about their new products, eventually unveiling the product via Snapchat. They also encourage users to photograph themselves with their food and they screenshot their favorites and display them. It’s a cheap way to access an audience that doesn’t like advertisements, but will watch a ten-second video or picture series from a business that sends them one.

Users feel as if they’re getting an inside look into what goes on behind closed doors—the pictures aren’t high quality, glossed-over representations of the business, they’re taken off the same mobile devices that the customers are viewing them on. It’s close, it’s personal, and it’s more attractive than a daily or weekly email reminder about products.